Driving mechanism for the heald shafts of a weaving machine operating with a closed shed



July 7, 1970 T. FRANSSEN 3,519,027 DRIVINGKZMECHANISM FOR THE HEALD SHAFTS OF A WEAVING MACHINE OPERATING WITH A CLOSED SHED Filed Sept. 19, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3,519,027 DRIVING MECHANISM FOR THE HEALD SHAFTS OF A WEAVING T. FRANSSEN July 7, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MACHINE OPERATING WITH A CLOSED SHED Filed Sept. 19, 1968 United States Patent 3,519,027 DRIVING MECHANISM FOR THE HEALD SHAFTS OF A WEAVING MACHINE 0P- ERATING WITH A CLOSED SHED Theodorns Franssen, Deurne, Netherlands, assignor to N.V. Machinefabriek L. Te Strake, Deurne, North Brabant, Netherlands, a Dutch company Filed Sept. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 760,804 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Sept. 22, 1967, 6713015 Int. Cl. D03c 13/00 US. Cl. 139-57 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The driving mechanism comprises a lever system having two driving members which are reciprocated oppositely to one another by the lever system. Rocker arms are arranged to be operated by the driving members and are coupled to harness levers for driving the heald shafts. A locking device is provided for selectively coupling each rocker arm to one of the oppositely reciprocated driving members and the locking device is operated by a selection device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a driving mechanism for the heald shafts of a weaving machine operating with a closed shed which weaving machine has been provided with rocker arms driven by a lever system which can be coupled with the rotating shaft of the weaving machine under provision of a selecting mechanism.

In weaving machines operating with a closed shed, that is to say that during the beating of the reed the shed is closed and the heald shafts remain in a midposition, the heald shafts are directly driven by a lever system which forms the connection between a rotating shaft of the machine and the heald shafts or by means of a lever system provided with a selecting mechanism. Such a selecting mechanism can for instance comprise a cam-shaft cooperating with the levers. Depending on the selection and the phase angle of the cams with respect to each other a definite weave can be formed with the heald shafts. When however another weave is desired it will be necessary to exchange the cam shaft. Sometimes the lever system cooperates with a pattern chain in which the levers are controlled by the cams of the pattern chain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a new driving mechanism in which the lever system can be controlled by the same cams or control grooves where still a selection is possible in a very easy manner allowing a selection of a definite kind of Weave for instance with the aid of a pattern chain, a weave card or an electrical or electronics system.

According to the invention this is achieved with a driving mechanism which is characterized in that each rocker arm cooperates with two driving members, each of which performs a reciprocal movement and the movement of both driving members is opposite with respect to each other and that the rocker arms can be coupled either to the one or to the other driving member by means of a ice locking device which can be controlled by a selection device. This has the advantage that the lever system will continue its normal running in the phase of operation of the weaving machine because the transmission of the movement from the lever system to the rocker arms is performed with the aid of a kind of switch.

A practical embodiment according to the invention is attained in that the locking device for each rocker arm is provided with two bolts, of which one is movably situated in one driving member and the other is movably situated in the other driving member which last driving member can perform a movement which is opposite to the movement of the first driving member. The bolts of the locking device move together with the movement of the driving members and run in tracks, which tracks are displaceable in the direction parallel to the direction in which the bolts are displaceable relatively to the driving members. This results in an easy running of the mechanism.

It is advantageous to couple pairs of tracks for the bolts of each rocker arm with respect to each other in such a manner that the tracks of each pair can make an opposite movement with respect to each other however parallel to the direction of displacement of the bolts. Further the driving mechanism according to the invention has been adapted in such amanner, that at least one of the tracks of each pair cooperates with a control member which is controlled by a selecting device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of the switch part of the driving mechanism for the heald shafts of a weaving machine according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 1 with some parts of the mechanism removed.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the lever system which is used for the device according to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a plan view of the driving mechanism for the rocker arms of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 shows a horizontal cross-section of a number of rocker arms with the parts situated immediately above the driving members shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a horizontal cross-section of a part of the locking device for coupling the driving members with the rocker arms.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the complete locking device.

FIG. 8 is a section according to the lines VIIIVIII in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 the driving mechanism according to the invention includes two plates 1a and 1b parallel to each other which plates form a frame 1 as the plates are connected to each other by means of bars 2a.

and 2b and further by a bar 3. Further bars can be provided in order to obtain a steady construction of the plates 1a and 1b.

The bars 2a and 2b are adapted as a pivot axis for pairs of harness levers 4a and 4b. The free ends of the harness levers 4a and 4b are provided with notches 5 and links of the heald shafts of the weaving machine fit into these notches. A further description of such links and shafts is superfluous as such shaft constructions are generally known. The ends of the harness levers 4a. and 4b which are directed towards each other are provided with teeth 6 and the teeth of the levers 4a intermesh with the teeth of the levers 4b. When now a lever 4a rocks around its axis 2a. the lever 4b will also perform a rocking movement around its axis 2b.

One harness lever system 4a. and 4b has been provided for each heald shaft of the weaving machine. If six heald shafts are present in the weaving machine there are also six pairs of harness levers 4a and 4b.

Each pair of harness levers 4a. and 4b cooperates with a rocker arm 7 situated below the levers. The rocker arms 7 can rock around the bar 3.

When six heald shafts are present in the weaving machine there are also six rocker arms 7 with the corresponding harness levers 4a and 4b. Each rocker arm 7 is provided with an ear 8 for a coupling link 9 which is connected to an arm 10 of a harness lever 4a or 4b (first occurrence). In order to place the harness levers 4a and 4b (second occurrence) with the rocker arms close together the ears 8 have been alternately situated at one side or the other side of the rocker arm. In one series of harness levers the arm 10 has been situated at the lever 4b and for the other series of levers the arm 10 has been situated at the lever 4a as appears from FIG. 2.

The driving members are immediately situated below the rocker arms 7 and two driving members 11a and 11b have been provided. The driving members are supported by arms 12a and 12b and the driving members 11a and 11b can rock around the shaft 3. The driving members 11a and 11b make a reciprocal movement as they are coupled to a lever 14 by means of coupling links 13a and 13b which lever has been pivoted at 15 and has been provided with arms 14a and 14b for the coupling links 13a and 13b respectively. By means of a coupling link 16 the lever 14 has been connected to an arm 17a of a lever 17 which has been pivotally supported at 18. The bell crank lever 17 has been provided with a roller 19 which runs in a groove 20 of a control disc mounted on a rotatable shaft 21 of the weaving machine. When the shaft 21 rotates the lever 14 will perform a rocking movement around its axis 15 owing to which the driving members 11a and 11b perform an opposite rocking movement around the shaft 3.

The lever system shown in FIG. 3 can be substituted by any other suitable mechanism depending on the construction of the weaving machine in which the driving mechanism according to the FIGS. 1 and 2 is to be used.

Each driving member 11a or 11b possesses teeth which project below the rocker arms 7. The driving member 11a is provided with teeth 22a and the driving member 11b is provided with teeth 22b. Each tooth 22a or 22b has been provided with a socket 23 for a bolt 24a or 24b (FIGS. 7 and 8) and such a bolt 24a in the socket 23 of a tooth 22a fits with its free end in a cavity 25a at the lower end of the rocker arm 7. A bolt 24b in the socket 23 of a tooth 22b fits with its free end in a cavity 25b of a rocker arm 7.

For each rocker arm two bolts 24a and 24b are present as shown in FIG. 8.

When the driving mechanism according to the invention is in operation either a bolt 24a or a bolt 24b projects into the concerning cavity 25a or 25b of the rocker arm 7. Thus the rocker arm is coupled either to the driving member 1111. or to the driving member 11b. The position of the driving members 110 and 11b as shown in FIG. 4 is the midposition of a rocking movement which each driving member 11a or 11b makes around the shaft 3. As the driving members 11a and 11b have an opposite direction of movement with their teeth 22a and 22b towards each other or from each other the midposition of this movement as indicated in FIG. 4 can be considered as a switch station. In this position it is possible to couple the bolt 24a or the bolt 24b with the rocker arm 7.

Each rocker arm can obtain a certain direction of movement by means of common driving members 11a and 11b as a result of coupling the bolt 24a or the bolt 24b. This means that the heald shafts at each midposition of the driving members 11a and 11b can move upwardly or downwardly depending on the setting of the bolts 24a and 24b, thus at each stroke of the weaving machine the direction of movement of each heald shaft can be immediately determined either for the upwards or for the downwards movement.

Switching of the bolts 24a and 24b is performed by means of guide tracks 26a: and 26b which can be displaced longitudinally of the bolts 24a and 24b. The guide tracks 26a and 26b are supported by means of tooth racks 27a and 27b in a stationary bridge 28 which has been situated between the plates 1a and 1b below the bar 3 and below the rocker arms 7 with their driving members 11a and 11b. In spite of the fact that the guide tracks 26a and 26b can be displaced longitudinally of the bolts 24a and 24b they can be considered as stationary with respect to the driving members 11a and 11b and the rocker arms 7. To the bolts 24a. belong guide tracks 26a with tooth racks 27a. and to the bolts 24b belong the guide tracks 26b with tooth racks 27b. The bolts 24a and 24b are provided at the lower end of each bolt with a roller which fits in the concerning guide track 26a or 26b.

When the device is in operation the rollers of the bolts move through the guide tracks and depending on the position of the guide track with respect to the bridge 28 either the bolt 24a or the bolt 24b will be in a cavity 25a or 25b of a rocker arm 7.

There always remains a bolt in a recess 25a or 25b for each rocker arm and another bolt remains always outside this recess 25a or 25b. The guide tracks 26a and 26b together with their concerning bolts 24a and 24b make an opposite movement. This is possible because a tooth wheel 29 has been mounted between the tooth racks 27a. and 27b which tooth wheel can rotate around a shaft mounted in the bridge 28, and constitutes a reversing coupling. One of the tooth racks 27a and 27b has been provided with a pin 30 which forms a connection with a lever 31 of a control device. Any control device for instance a pattern chain can act on the lever 31.

The controlling by means of the lever 31 however is very suitable for electric or electronic controlling as the separate coupling of a rocker arm 7 either to a driving member 11a or to a driving member 11b at a midposition of the driving members allows a very large number of variations in a quick switching of the position of a heald shaft with respect to other heald shafts without stopping the weaving machine when changing from the one kind of weave to another kind of weave.

I claim:

1. A driving mechanism for the heald shafts of a weaving machine operating with a closed shed, comprising a lever system having two driving members which are reciprocated oppositely to one another by the lever system, rocker arms which are arranged to be operated by the driving members and are coupled to harness levers for driving the heald shafts, a locking device for selectively coupling each rocker arm to one of the oppositely reciprocated driving members, and a selection device for operating the locking device.

2. A driving mechanism according to claim 1 wherein each locking device comprises two bolts each of which is movably mounted in one of the driving members.

3. A driving mechanism according to claim 2 wherein a track is provided for each bolt, which is displaceable in the direction in which the bolt is movable relative to the driving member, and in which a part of the bolt runs during reciprocation of the driving member.

4. A driving mechanism according to claim 3 wherein the two tracks of the two bolts for selectively coupling each rocker arm are connected by a reversing coupling to cause the displacement of the two bolts relative to the two driving members to take place in opposite directions.

5. A driving mechanism according to claim 4 wherein References Cited the selection device operates to displace at least one track UNITED STATES PATENTS of each coupled pair of tracks relative to the driving members 700,613 5/1902 Brindle et al. 139-58 6. A driving mechanism according to claim 1 wherein 2,674,272 4/1954 WerPer et 13957 the rocker arms are pivoted upon a common axis, at least 2956589 10/1960 Pelhs 139 '77 one rocker arm being provided for each heald shaft in the FOR GN PA weaving machine.

7. A driving mechanism according to claim 6 wherein 2/1953 France the two driving members are rockable members which are 10 JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner plvoted upon the same ax1s as the rocker arms. 

